Week 38: Evolving in Monkey Town by Rachel Held Evans

Rachel Held Evans wrote Evolving in Monkey Town about the evolution of Christian theology and about her own distinct path toward, away from, and back to Christian faith. She was programmed to have certain responses to the questions of nonbelievers. But when nobody asked her the questions she was prepared to answer, she was challenged in ways that put cracks in her own theology.

In this book, Evans describes how Christianity changed throughout the centuries as science progressed and people began to think about what they believed, rather than just believing whatever they were told. As humans evolved, Christianity evolved as well. Although Evans professes Christian faith, I get the feeling from her tone that perhaps Christianity has some catching up to do.

Evans used a combination of intellect and faith in order to clarify things. Although faith is faith (and not fact), she was able to begin to think of faith not as a destination and more like a journey.

Much like my previous entry on Blue Like Jazz, I try to separate blog postings from my personal beliefs. Despite that rule, I'll say that I could have written this book. The experiences that the author cited (such as "Bible drills") were hitting pretty close to home.

Another great referral from Lost Lunatic, and this time, I didn't even have to pay for the book!